Does anybody want to know how much it is costing Coral Gables taxpayers to go after the War Memorial Youth Center Association? Because, apparently, it’s going to cost $500 to find out.
Ladra did a public records request for all invoices from and payments made to outside attorney Israel Reyes, who is the one who sent the threatening letter to the civic group that serves as the watchdog for the Coral Gables Youth Center — making sure it’s not developed into something else — asking for all kinds of documents that he and the city are not entitled to.
It was a simple public records request — not for ancient archives, not for dusty boxes from the Eisenhower era — but for one year of invoices and payments to a local attorney, not someone on the other side of the world. And the city’s response? That’ll be eight hours of work and $492.27, please.
To gather invoices. Invoices. Let that sink in.
According to the City Clerk’s Office, it will take a full workday — eight billable hours — just to “gather, identify and review” records showing how much Coral Gables has paid an outside lawyer to wage war on a civic association that runs a youth center.
Read related: Battle over Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center is political retaliation
Not to redact sensitive police files. Not to review emails involving minors. Not to parse national security secrets.
Invoices. Payments. Checks cut with taxpayer money.
And this, mind you, is a city that claims it’s demanding transparency from others. I guess it’s transparency only if you can afford it.
This is how Sunshine Law compliance dies in Coral Gables: death by invoice.
Want to know how much the city is spending on a politically charged legal vendetta? That’ll cost you nearly $500 — just to see the 
paperwork.
This isn’t an accident. It’s a deterrent.
The city knows exactly what it’s doing when it slaps a price tag on public records. It’s a polite way of saying: You can look — if you’re willing to pay for the privilege.
And if you don’t? Well, ignorance is cheaper.
This fee demand only sharpens the real question: How much has Coral Gables already spent paying outside counsel to pressure the War Memorial Youth Center Association? And why does it take eight hours to find out?
Invoices should be logged. Payments should be tracked. This should be a few clicks, not a full-day excavation.
Unless, of course, there’s more there than they’d like to casually hand over.
Let’s remember the context.
This legal push didn’t begin with a scandal. It didn’t follow a forensic audit. It didn’t come after any allegation of wrongdoing.
It followed an election.
Read related: Coral Gables commission launches legal fight with Youth Center group
Kirk Menendez ran against Vince Lago — and lost. The Youth Center is Menendez’s life’s work. And suddenly the city is paying outside attorneys to threaten lawsuits, demand records it has no right to demand, and now charge nearly $500 to tell the 
public how much all of that costs.
Retaliation, it turns out, isn’t cheap. But Coral Gables taxpayers are footing the bill anyway.
City Hall says the Youth Center Association must open its books because transparency matters. Meanwhile, City Hall charges a toll to open its own.
This is not fiscal stewardship. It’s not efficiency. And it’s definitely not good faith.
It’s a city government acting like it has something to shield — or at least something it doesn’t want casually scrutinized.
If the city is so confident in its position, so righteous in its pursuit of “facts,” why make it harder — and more expensive — to see the receipts?
And if this is what transparency costs at City Hall, how many residents will simply stop asking?
Because that may be the point.
In Coral Gables, even the Sunshine Law now comes with a cover charge.
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Eight hours, $492, and the price of asking questions in Coral Gables added by Ladra on
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If I Remember Correctly They Could only Charge $0.15 a Page But That’s POLITICAL CORRUPTION , Face It Ladra I was QUOTED $206,400.in Miami Dade County PRR ? and in Another From MIA I was Told That It Was a Trade Secret To Answer My PPR on UBER & LYFT ? The Real Answer Was They Had an Honor System W/ Them and ” THEY DON’T KNOW !
I don’t expect you to print my email. You never do. But this is the explanation for the cost of your request. I am a fan of the Mayor and VIce Mayor and I gather that makes me persona non grata in your opinion.
The primary cost in this estimate is the substantial time needed to review and redact sensitive information from each invoice. This process is essential to ensure compliance with confidentiality and privacy, including the protection of case-related details, victim identities, and information pertaining to confidential informants. These redactions are legally necessary to prevent the release of privileged or protected information under state law, public records requirements, and attorney-client privilege.
If the request were only for the total amount of each invoice, we could provide that quickly with a simple report. However, reviewing each invoice for legal compliance and making the required redactions is the most time-consuming part of the process.
The City policy states “The fee will be calculated using the lowest hourly rate of the employee capable of doing the work needed to comply with the request”. Based on this, the estimate includes time for an administrative assistant to locate and organize the records, as well as time billed at the lowest salary level for an Assistant City Attorney to review the documents and perform the necessary redactions. Additionally, this is only an estimate. If the actual time needed to complete the work is less than expected, the final bill will be adjusted accordingly.
Miami politicos with Cubans the head of the serpent are like one big corrupt HOA .
I agree with you. I don’t often say so. I let know Mayor Lago and VIce Mayor Anderson (which I support 100%) of my feelings. The press and you are press, should be able to report on all issues free of charge.
WRONG::Eight hours, $492, and the price of asking questions in Coral Gables
This is the standard at the city of miami as well. It’s an old trick to discourage any regular person to follow up and catch these folks. Don’t feel bad, typical first grade playbook sent out every week over here. You can challenge it and win everytime with a letter from a lawyer asking for a breakdown since they give you a price without checking in the first place.. we suck and we tired of the bs
Submit your request under Aesop’s “Alberto Giancarlo” moniker and you won’t have any problems.
That information should be accessible to the city homeowners. The state requires associations have a website with all the financial information records for member access. Why can’t there be a website for the city as well? I would think that the community that pays those taxes should have access to information on how their funds are being spent. I know this will happen when pigs fly but for the sake of transparency it should be the case without charge.
Always great reporting!
Thank you, and Happy New Year!
Ladra : Where is FIOA and The normal $0.15 cents a Page in Coral Gables !
I Had a PRR at Miami Dade and the bill was going to be $206,400. Because They will Have to Black some parts of The Documents. That is CORRUPTION !
All of this stuff is so automated – as we all know. This is the 21st century, after all. It should be a matter of just running a report on invoices paid to that person. More like 8 minutes of work, not 8 hours.